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Research

Radford Medical Practice and The Student Health Centre is research active!

This means we take part in medical research to help improve healthcare. If you would like any more information about our current studies please ask for more information at reception. They will be happy to help!

Dr Gowda is our clinical research lead. (Ruth) Gillian Hickman is our admin lead.

Below are some of the current research we are taking part in:

Studies The Practice are taken part in throughout 2024-2025.

The EMPOWER Study

Half of all UK women experience symptoms related to problems with their pelvic floor muscles,such as leaking of urine. These symptoms are distressing,affecting all aspects of life. Previous research has shown that pelvic floor exercises and lifestyle changes help. Unfortunately,most never seek treatment.

We are not sure why women find it hard to seek help. It may be embarrassment or believing that symptoms are inevitable after childbirth or getting older.

Previous research has used questionnaires,but these may prevent women providing important details. GPs and nurses,in some regions,have previously reported difficulties referring women. Talking to women and healthcare professionals directly will help guide future research and pathways to care.

Aim: To investigate barriers preventing women seeking/accessing help for these symptoms and identify what could make help-seeking easier,by:
• Identifying barriers that women believe stop them seeking help.
• Identifying barriers that GPs and nurses believe make it hard for them to help women.
• Identifying what women think will make it easier for them to seek and get help.

Design:
• One-to-one interviews with symptomatic women to find out why they have not sought help or ask about any experiences they have had,when seeking help.
• Questionnaires for GPs and nurses to find out how they help women with symptoms,including where they refer women for support.
Some health professionals will be invited for a one-to-one interview to discuss topics in detail.
• Women will be invited to join small discussion groups with other symptomatic women to discuss ideas they believe could help women seek treatments.

Sharing results
Results will be published in academic journals and shared at conferences to inform other researchers, clinicians and policy makers about key findings. Participants, relevant charities, patient organisations and the public will be invited to a presentation day to share the results.

CAPPPeD – Pain Phenotyping in People Living with Dementia

Dementia is a common condition as people get older. Around 1 in 2 people living with dementia (PWD) will have issues with pain. Furthermore, many PWD will have mood and behaviour change symptoms throughout their illness which may be linked to pain.

A person who has changes in the part of their brain that processes pain might have worse pain than someone with no changes. These differences may be seen as distinct clinical features and are called “central aspects of pain”. Central aspects are important because if they are present, pain may be worse and commonly used treatments for pain may not work.

PWD sometimes find it difficult to express themselves clearly. So, if they are experiencing pain, sharing this discomfort with carers, family or professionals is sometimes expressed not in words but in a change of mood or behaviour. This study is designed to understand how central aspects of pain, mood and behaviour symptoms are related and affect quality of life, so that ultimately pain that PWD experience can be treated successfully.

We will invite 70 PWD and longstanding pain, and 30 PWD but who do not have longstanding pain (comparison group) to participate in this study together with their caregiver or regular companion. They will complete questionnaires about pain severity and its impact on daily activities. Further questionnaires will find out if central aspects of pain and mood and behaviour change symptoms are present. A smaller group of participants will be invited to tell us how pain affects their lives in more detail.

We anticipate that this study will allow healthcare professionals to better understand the link between pain and related symptoms, in order to develop new approaches to help treat longstanding pain in people living with dementia.

iSHUSH-Think

Some people have real difficulty coping with everyday sounds such as car noise, dishwashers, or talking. This is a hearing problem called hyperacusis. People with hyperacusis report that everyday sounds are frightening, painful, or overwhelming. This often leads to feelings of fear, distress, or anxiety. Every aspect of life can be affected. Research has shown that underpinning a lot of these problems is a lack of knowledge of the condition or how best to cope with it. The internet is a useful way to provide high-quality information to a large number of people who have hyperacusis. It offers the means to educate and support people, for example by teaching about self-help. We are developing and evaluating a online education resource/website for hyperacusis entitled “internet Self-help, Understanding and Support for Hyperacusis” (iSHUSH) to support adults experiencing hyperacusis. Our first interview study identified the needs, and challenges of hyperacusis, and the things that stop or encourage engagement with online resources. These findings combined with evidence from research informed the iSHUSH structure and content. We now need to check what works, what did not work and importantly whether the content is acceptable, relevant, understandable, and easy to use for the intended users (adults experiencing hyperacusis and healthcare professionals who support them). We also need to identify the most reliable, relevant and appropriate questionnaire to measure the impact of hyperacusis to include on the iSHUSH website. We will therefore carry out two parts:
Part A: Online questionnaire study to check how well the current questionnaires measure the impact of hyperacusis and changes in symptoms over time and find out your views and opinions of these questionnaires
Part B: One-on-one discussions with adults experiencing hyperacusis and healthcare professionals to find out their thoughts, views and opinions and immediate reactions to all or parts of the iSHUSH content.

Acne Care Online

Acne is very common, frequently causes distress and may lead to permanent scarring. Treatment of acne is a major cause of antibiotic use, although guidelines suggest that topical treatments should be the main treatment. However, patients often give up on topical treatments because they don’t know how to avoid side effects and/or don’t use them for long enough. The study team have developed a website to help young people to manage acne more effectively, including information on how to obtain effective treatments, promote regular treatment use and how to avoid side effects.

BED and BN in Primary Care

Exploration of current paths of identification and management of Binge Eating Disorder and Bulimia Nervosa in primary care in the United Kingdom and development of recommendations for primary care

RESPONSE

Multicenter, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, dose response trial with XXXX in patients with chronic non-specific low back pain
Please click here to view the poster

SPARX-UK  – Developing precision computerised cognitive behavioural therapy (cCBT) for adolescent depression: a pilot and feasibility randomised controlled trial

SPARX is a serious interactive game for adolescents with low mood. Using cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) principles, adolescents navigate their way through a virtual world learning skills to implement in the real-world. Having shown efficacy for depression and anxiety in New Zealand and Australia, we now want to see if SPARX is suitable for an adolescent UK population. Therefore, we are conducting a pilot and feasibility randomised controlled trial (RCT). 

The primary objectives of the trial are to examine the feasibility of using delivering SPARX in particular settings, whether a human supported version of SPARX has an added benefit on adherence and engagement, and to estimate the variance of change in PHQ-A to calculate an appropriate sample size for the full definitive trial. This data will be used to test the feasibility of conducting a future definitive RCT.

Sweet sensing in Type 2 diabetes

A limited number of studies have reported that sweet taste sensation is reduced in individuals with T2D. In the proposed research, we will expand on previous work and further assess whether abnormalities in oral sweet sensitivity affects people with prediabetes. We will also study whether oral sweet sensitivity is related to an individual’s sweet preference and daily sugar intake,and how this is affected by diabetes status. Previous studies, including work from our group, have looked at brain responses to oral sweet perception in individuals without T2D or prediabetes via fMRI, however no study has yet looked at this in the context of prediabetes or T2D. Gut sweet sensing has also been shown to be defective in individuals with T2D, and links to faster glucose absorption and higher blood glucose levels. However, previous studies have not looked at the relationship between gut and brain responses to reflect on how information from the gut sweet sensing is translated to the brain and whether or how increased sugar absorption from the gut occurs. This proposal will build on our past research and unique expertise to bring together oral, gut and brain sweet sensing to assess the impact of any changes in people with prediabetes or T2D that may increase risk or worsen the disease.

Habitual high consumption of added sugars increases the risk of developing,or worsening type 2 diabetes (T2D). Despite this, individuals with T2D have told us that craving and consuming excess sugar is a common and distressing problem to balance. A better understanding of the mechanisms that govern sugar taste and reward, as well as taste control of blood sugar by the gut, is crucial to prevent and better treat T2D. Unfortunately, our current understanding of how sweet is detected by the tongue and in the gut and then conveyed to the central nervous system is limited. The present study will use a sophisticated brain imaging technique, called functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to identify how sweet sensing is communicated from the tongue and gut to the brain in individuals with and without T2D or prediabetes. Understanding these mechanisms will enable personalised treatments to be developed that preserve taste reward, but which target sweet sensing to optimise control of blood sugar in prediabetes and T2D. Our study will also empower individuals with prediabetes or T2D to adhere to dietary plans,to reduce the incidence and burden of T2D.

Skills for Adolescent WELLbeing study (SWELL)

The SWELL study is a randomised controlled trial that aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a preventive psychological intervention (involving weekly online group CBT) for adolescents at elevated risk of depression. As parental depression may reduce effectiveness of CBT interventions for depression in young people, this study will also involve the trial team offering treatment optimisation for parents who are depressed at the start of the trial.

The Coach Trial

To evaluate the effect of cochlear implantation on speech understanding in quiet in comparison to the use of acoustic hearing aids (HAs) in adults with severe hearing loss whose audiometric thresholds and/or speech perception scores fall outside current UK candidacy criteria for cochlear implantation (as per NICE guidance TA566).

The Hidden Workload Study has now been launched by the Primary care Academic CollaboraTive (PACT)!

PACT wants to better understand the daily workload of clinicians who work in general practice, especially the large amount of work that clinicians do other than seeing patients in planned consultations. This is often referred to as our “hidden” workload. If you work in general practice in England you are likely eligible to take part!

In this study PACT want participants to record all the work you do on a single workday using a simple form. You can also choose to take part in interviews to talk more about your workload and the work involved in looking after your local community. All participants will be credited as a co-author on any resulting publications and presentations.

Mechanisms Underlying Impaired Impulse Control in Parkinson’s Disease

We aim to look at the mechanisms underlying how you control your
movements. To examine this, we will measure your brain activity
during a simple task involving finger movements, using non-invasive
brain stimulation and recording techniques.
For more information, please click here
If you would like more information, please contact Aliya Warden via
email at ach722@bham.ac.uk or phone at 07557028358

Studies The Practice have taken part in throughout 2023-2024.

  • Open PROMPT study. To assess the impact of long COVID on health-related quality of life, healthcare utilisation and cost to the NHS. And to undertake a health economic evaluation of future vaccination strategies, incorporating the impact on long COVID
  • Integrated Bipolar Parenting Intervention – IBPI study

    IBPI is the Integrated Bipolar Parenting Intervention, an online support tool for parents living with bipolar. Our team of researchers, clinicians, and parents with bipolar disorder have created the IBPI tool with the aim of addressing the unique challenges of parenting with bipolar disorder.

    We hope this tool will improve their children’s behavioural and emotional outcomes, improve the parents’ mood and confidence, and improve overall family functioning.

    The current study will test the effectiveness of IBPI on reducing child behavioural and emotional problems and parent stress and anxiety, and increasing parents’ confidence and family functioning, as well as exploring the costs involved in delivering the intervention.

    Our aim is to make the IBPI site available for parents with bipolar across the UK.

  • The Multi-Ethnic Lifestyle Study – MEL Study

    The aim of the research is to explore how different lifestyle behaviours present in a population made up of different ethnic backgrounds, and to understand how certain lifestyle behaviours might cluster together and how this impacts upon health. The study will explore how different lifestyle behaviours and socio-demographic factors, such as someone’s age, ethnicity or where they live, occur in people who are generally healthy and those who have long term conditions.  The study will now also look at how COVID-19 may have affected lifestyle behaviours.
    Click here to see the poster.

  • Live Well with Parkinson’s RCT
  • Violence and Abuse towards GP staff –

    General practitioners have experienced more violence and abuse by patients and the public since 2020, more so than hospital doctors. About 2/3 of GPs have also witnessed their colleagues being abused by patients in their practice, especially receptionists. This can lead to staff feeling anxious or stressed and some staff may take sick leave or think about leaving their job. This adds to the current crisis where staff in GP services already have high workloads and work overtime to meet healthcare needs of their patients.

  • PrEP in Pharmacy (UNITY) Study – Barriers and Facilitators of Pharmacists and the General Public Towards the Routine Provision of PrEP in Community Pharmacy in the UK (UNITY)

    While knowledge of PrEP among UK gay & bisexual men (GBM) is among the highest in Europe [13] , a small but appreciable number of users reported a knowledge gap among healthcare providers, including negative judgements. Greater awareness among health professionals is required to ensure these experiences do not undermine access or adherence to PrEP. Additionally, knowledge remains low in at risk groups who may not actively identify as MSM, and other segments of society including BAME and in particular Somali sub-populations. More needs to be done to better understand why PrEP uptake is lower in these ‘at risk’ groups compared to middle-aged white MSM. There is a pressing need to study the knowledge, attitudes and perceptions (KAP) of healthcare professionals and the general public (in particular from BME and Somali subpopulations) regarding the barriers to and facilitators towards the provision of PrEP in community pharmacy. We would therefore like to investigate the attitudes and perceptions of pharmacists and the general public towards the provision of PrEP in community pharmacy to gauge their knowledge, attitudes and perceptions, with specific emphasis on BAME groups.
    Click here to see the poster.

Past research/studies:
  • Study about experiences of recurrent vaginal thrush to develop a new web resource for patients and healthcare professionals. Find more information regarding the study here.
  • Nottingham City Council and the NHS are researching why people might not get their covid 19 vaccines- see the flyer here to see if you’re eligible to take part in this research.

 

  • Principle Covid-19 Study- Principle is a nationwide clinical study from the University of Oxford to find Covid-19 treatments for the over 50’s that can be taken at home. The Principle trial is entirely remote. Anyone experiencing Covid-19 symptoms, which started within the last 14 days may be eligible to join the principle trial if they are aged over 65; or over 50 with an underlying health condition. If you are eligible, you can join the study by clicking here.

 

  • The Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) wants to hear the views of the public to understand and shape future mental health early support services for children and young people aged up to 25 years. They would like to hear from young people, parents, carers, and professionals to help understand their experiences and report on what support has been like at the early intervention stage. These insights will be collated into a report to help shape the mental health and early intervention and prevention services for children and young people in the future. Parents and carers are invited to share their views and experiences via an online survey by clicking here. Vital focus groups will also take place on the 2nd, 5th and 8th September 2020 and the opportunity to take part in a telephone interview is available for those who may find this more accessible. To take part in a vital focus group or telephone interview, kindly email sasha.bipin@nhs.net or call or text 07818580719. All engagement will end on Friday 18th September 2020. More information regarding the study is available here.

 

  • NIHR Covid-19 Vaccine research: This research enables people to sign up to register their interest in taking part in vaccine trials for Covid-19. It’s available for anyone over the age of 18 and living in the UK. To register, fill in the forms available here. This link also provides more information about the research. You can also sign up to be contacted about coronavirus vaccine research conducted by NIHR here.

 

  •  Reboot Notts: This research consisted of appealing for people in Nottinghamshire who were experiencing stress or low mood to help them access online mental health tools. It included an online peer support website named ‘Big White Wall’ and the study was to assess whether it was more or less effective in helping people with depression and anxiety than the online information available from the NHS Moodzone website.
  • Heart Surgery Priority Setting Partnership: This research wanted people to participate in asking questions about heart surgery. This is so that they could research into the progression of modern medicine in order to benefit patients in the future.

 

 

 

Date published: 29th July, 2020
Date last updated: 31st January, 2025